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I would like to thank everyone for all their great information again on this forum.

The information really helped me with my purchase of a Panasonic TM700 camcorder and I am loving it and now I decided not to wait for the VT30s and pull the trigger (with the help of an amazing price) on a Panasonic 58VT25.

I've been reading posts about this set for a few months now and there is A LOT of info.

If I may be able to ask a few questions, I would be interested in what people say:

- This TV is replacing my LG 47LG90QD local dimming LED TV. The ghosting on the black scenes got to me just too much on this TV and it has now been retired as the gaming TV. The 58VT25 will now be my main TV. I will have my computer and PS3 hooked up to it. Being a plasma, do I really need to have picture slides to "break it in"?

- Also, I surf the net a lot using my TV. Will the task bar etc eventually get burned into the plasma? Is there any way of preventing this?

- I've read so many of D-Nice's posts and are fantastic for info. I can't seem to find the settings he recommends though. Also, if I don't get it professionally calibrated just yet, should I just get the 3.5 firmware and use JC THX settings?

- Also, what seems to be the best wall mount people are going with for the 58 version?

well i bought my 58VT25 a few weeks ago and im done with the slices, i did them for 5 6 days 24/7. anyway i wont recommend you using your plasma as a monitor for the first 100hrs at least, because is a young TV still and in the beginning is more prompt to get IR and all that. just use it normally in case you don't want to run the slices, but don't let a static image be display for more than 2 hours for the first 100hrs of the plasma. i got a little IR when i first turned it on because i left the avatar 3D warning up because i was reading it, then i change it and i clearly saw the ghosting letter of that warning, but after doing the slices no more! im getting my display calibrated by the end of this month and that will be it! i love my plasma!

- Also, I surf the net a lot using my TV. Will the task bar etc eventually get burned into the plasma? Is there any way of preventing this?

I've been thinking about the same issue, I'm leaning in the plasma direction, because of better picture quality.

I've heard the plasma's are very durable now, but can still be burned if abused. I think Panasonic recommends a static image no more than an hour. Interestingly, the LCD TV manufacturers tell you not to leave a static image for more than 2 hours. That got me thinking about how to prevent burn, or even bad temporary image retention.

1) Turn down the brightness and contrast. I don't like a monitor overly bright anyway (hard on the eyes).

2) Move the Windows taskbar around. If you right click on the Windows taskbar, then uncheck "Lock taskbar", then you can drag it to any of the other three sides of the screen.

3) Let other windows cover the taskbar.

For Windows XP, right click on the taskbar, left click Properties, then uncheck "Keep Windows taskbar on top of other windows".

For Windows 7, you'll need a special free app which can be found here.

By the way, the "Auto-hide the task bar" setting in the Taskbar properties almost does the job, except it leaves a thin line where the taskbar would be, which could in theory burn the screen over time.

3) Change the size of your taskbar. Right click on the taskbar, and uncheck "Lock taskbar". Then click and drag the border of the taskbar. That will shift the position of the Start button, program icons, clock, etc. to new locations.

4) Make sure you have a screen saver setup to turn on say after about 15 minutes.

5) Click the "Restore Down" button at the top right corner so Internet Explorer doesn't quite fill the screen. Then move the browser around the screen occasionally. You don't really need the browser to fill the screen anyway on a 16:9 screen.

Thanks again! Also, are people usually wall mounting it? I have a 20 inch high TV stand. Should I just rest it on that? Or should I get a wall mount and keep it a little higher? I will be sitting about 8-9 feet away.

Turn off desktop icons, dont maximize windows so you can move them around every once in awhile, auto hide the taskbar (it will leave a line but you will use the taskbar enough that it wont burn in), In Windows 7 you can turn on slide show for the desktop background and set the interval to 5 minutes (if you dont have a way to auto change the desktop in an older version of windows then get Windows 7, you are pushing your luck with an expensive TV without that feature).

If you use the computer a lot on the TV you are taking a gamble, plasmas are really bad to use for computers and its easy to forget to move stuff around on the screen. I use my computer on mine but I only use it for games and videos, I have a laptop for all the regular computer stuff like web surfing.

Thanks again! Also, are people usually wall mounting it? I have a 20 inch high TV stand. Should I just rest it on that? Or should I get a wall mount and keep it a little higher? I will be sitting about 8-9 feet away.

Thanks again

You want the middle of the screen to be eye level when sitting. A 58" on a 20" high stand might be okay.

So, run the slides for 100 hours.
Don't let a background last for more than 23 mins to be safe.
Keep the TV eye level.
Use the James Carter download firmware with no alterations and NOT use D-Nice settings.

Watched Avater, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Guardians and Clash of the Titans in 3D. Phenomenal! Very impressed. 3D scenes are darker, but still great detail and really make the experience more immersive.

I am running the slides a t nights. I guess I read that I don't need to, but no harm can be done doing so, so why not.

Having a bit of a hard time getting the colours to where I'd like them, but overall very impressive picture.

Why is this set going back? The buzzing!!!! Man I can hear it very loud. VERY annoying because I live an hour away from BestBuy and had to rent a van to pick it up! Everything would be perfect if it just didn't buzz so loud. I know that plasmas buzz, but it is so loud

Watched Avater, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Guardians and Clash of the Titans in 3D. Phenomenal! Very impressed. 3D scenes are darker, but still great detail and really make the experience more immersive.

I am running the slides a t nights. I guess I read that I don't need to, but no harm can be done doing so, so why not.

Having a bit of a hard time getting the colours to where I'd like them, but overall very impressive picture.

Why is this set going back? The buzzing!!!! Man I can hear it very loud. VERY annoying because I live an hour away from BestBuy and had to rent a van to pick it up! Everything would be perfect if it just didn't buzz so loud. I know that plasmas buzz, but it is so loud

Thanks for all the help again.

You can call panasonic and they will fix the buzz for you, if you really want to keep the set. If not just return it to BB. I got lucky with mine, it doesn't buzz or do any other problem!

Hey pannther, how do you like the new vt25 compared to your old local dimming set? Black level, shadow detail, overall picture quality? (basically i'm having a hard time deciding between a new local dimming set and a panny plasma)

Hi Truquitos. Thanks for the reply. I think I'll just return it and hope for a non buzz as I'm still in my 30 day period.

Karlmalone1, As much as I enjoyed the LED local dimming set, I MUCH prefer this TV. When technology gets to a point where an individual pixel can turn on and off, I'll go that route. The ghosting effect was just too annoying. The black levels when LED clusters are off was better though. I also am enjoying 3D material and LED/LCDs are just not there yet.

Look at the TV you are interested at off angles, that's what makes the difference I find. Hope this helps.

After having this new set for almost 2 weeks, I am quite frustrated. I now hear a buzz that emanates through the front of the TV (which i heard is more common with Samsungs) as well as a very audible buzz originating from the top right. If I life up on the TV slightly, the sound subsides, but returns off and on.

I am thinking that if I return it a second time, I'll get another that buzzes. The production date is October 2010 on this one compared to the July 2010 of the other one. I don't see many posts on this being an issue with the VT25, so I'm stumped. My elevation is normal and I realize that buzzing is normal with plasmas, but this is really audible.

Any VT25 owners out there with a similar issue? Should I just return again?

well if you like it, try and return again, if not just call panasonic and tell them your problem. its an easy fix in most cases. my set is a November 2010 build and everything is just perfect. no sound even if i go behind it, and the picture is absolutely amazing after it had the pro calibration